


what a perfect mess we are

by tinglingworld



Category: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Genre: F/F, Idiots in Love, Pre-Heist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-26 23:51:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18187133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinglingworld/pseuds/tinglingworld
Summary: They're young and broke. Danny's more successful than Debbie and it drives her mad. Lou just wants to afford rent. Efficient communication really isn't their thing. They're idiots, but they're in love.





	what a perfect mess we are

**Author's Note:**

> 'what's this' you ask? 'don't you have a long-ass WIP to finish'? 'aren't you a student and need to write papers for uni'?  
> yes. 
> 
> so I wrote this. it's short and really not a whole lot of anything, but oh well, whatever. please enjoy
> 
> based on a prompt taken from this list:  
> https://prompt-bank.tumblr.com/post/156146388188/otp-drabble-challenge

“Can you dance with me?“

“You’re not mad?”

“Oh no, I totally am. I’d just really like to pay rent tomorrow and eat for the rest of the week, so can you please come dance with me?”

Debbie huffed and dramatically puffed a strand of hair out of her eyes but she downed her drink and got up from her spot at the bar.

 

It was Friday evening and the club was dreadfully empty. 400$ was Lou’s goal of the night. That’d be enough for rent and a week and a half’s worth of groceries with something to spare. She’d settle for 250 if push came to shove, but the saying went “dream big”. Although she had to admit the lack of customers tonight was worrying. Which was why she needed Debbie to come with her to the dancefloor. With hardly anyone at the bar Debbie just sitting their wallowing in self-pity wouldn’t get them anywhere.

 

They had fought earlier about Debbie wanting to move apartments. It was a ridiculous idea. They hardly made enough money to afford their current apartment’s rent consistently and it wasn’t even a bad apartment. Lou knew that it was just one of Debbie’s post-family meeting hunches. Whenever she got back from spending time with her brother she came up with these crazy ideas. Lou didn’t dislike Danny but she sure disliked the side he brought out in Debbie.

Danny was, at all times, successful in what he was doing: be it a bank robbery, a casino heist or creating continuous income by creative fencing. It drove Debbie insane, Lou knew that. But Danny was also older than Debbie, his father’s favorite and a white man in America. Things were set up to be easier for him. Lou wasn’t jealous, she couldn’t care less for how other people earned their living. Debbie however cared a whole lot. Which was where her insane ideas after these outings with Danny stemmed from.

Lou always called her out on them. They didn’t always fight about it, but this time they had. Mainly because Lou’s nerves were already strung tight with the non-existent rent situation. She didn’t particularly like being unable to pay their bills. So when Debbie over breakfast had gone on and on and _on_ about how she wanted a bigger apartment, something nice, more stylish- more like Danny’s, Lou had called her out on her bullshit. And because Debbie was Debbie and Debbie did not ever admit to being wrong easily, they had fought. Rather intensely.

 

If it were any other day Lou would have refused to go out in the evening but they really needed the money so here they were.

By now most of her anger had cooled down into mere irritation, but she wasn’t quite ready to let go of that yet. Lou knew Debbie was probably regretting her words from earlier but she also knew that she hated admitting to that. Family, and Danny in particular, was the only thing ever getting a rise out of Deborah Ocean and she despised that.

 

Debbie reached for Lou’s hand and was dragging her onto the dancefloor, immediately starting to move her body to the rhythm. At least she was eventually recognizing their need to work this night. Lou had even put on a dress, she was that desperate. She didn’t particularly like the short, skin-tight black dress she was wearing. It was so much more Debbie’s style, and in fact it was Debbie’s dress, but personal preference be damned, Lou had long since learned that women in short dresses distracted men more efficiently than women in suits. God knew why. _She_ certainly appreciated a beautiful woman in a suit. But tonight was about earning money, so the dress it was.

Lou let her body move to the beat but kept her eyes alert and scanned the room. Debbie, having downed two drinks already, and still sulking, was definitely less observant. But her dancing was just seductive enough to draw in gazes from all over the club and soon after more and more guys made their way to the dancefloor- drink in hand, awkwardly shuffling, mostly off-beat, from one foot to the other. Lou really couldn’t grasp how anyone could find them attractive. She’d take their attention though, if it meant it wasn’t on the wallets in their back pockets. Seriously? Why did men always put their wallet in their back pocket?

Lou touched Debbie’s arm and nodded her head towards a tall blonde guy who’d come up behind her. Debbie’s affirming nod was almost imperceptible before she turned and flashed a huge smile. It didn’t take more than 2 minutes and Lou had his cash, his wallet returned safely to his pocket.

…

Locking the cubicle’s door behind herself, Lou took a deep breath and pulled out the cash she’d been tucking away in her bra. 220. That wasn’t bad. Debbie had some too, so it’d definitely be enough for rent. And it was enough to call it a night. Lou wasn’t sure exactly what time it was but she guessed something around 1.30am. She was tired. These kind of nights were a lot less fun when she and Debbie weren’t talking.

She was just tucking the money back into her bra when she heard the bathroom door open and close.

 

“Lou?” came Debbie’s questioning voice and Lou smiled a little that Debbie had noticed her leaving the main floor.

She unlocked the cubicle and stepped outside to find Debbie leaning against the counter, running a hand through her hair that had started to get frizzy from the humidity on the dancefloor.

“What’s your count?” she asked, reaching for Lou’s hand and drawing her close. Lou let her. She wasn’t angry anymore. She was mainly just tired and done with dealing with other people for the day.  

“220. What’s yours?”

“Haven’t counted yet.”

As she spoke she reached into the neckline of her dress and pulled out a bundle of bills, handing it to Lou and then stepping back to lean against the closed door. Lou went through it, quickly adding it up.

“170,” she announced, handing it back to Debbie who hid it away with practiced ease.

“So rent’s sorted. Can you stop being mad now?”

Lou shook her head and smiled, stepping in front of Debbie who immediately snuck her arms around her waist. Debbie wasn’t drunk, but she was sufficiently tipsy and believe it or not- Debbie Ocean was a clingy drunk. Which was why usually she didn’t drink at all if they went out to work. Today was an exception and Lou couldn’t blame her for it.

 

“I’m not mad anymore,” she asserted Debbie and pulled her close. Debbie smiled happily and rested her head against Lou’s shoulder.

“Good.”

“But I do want to go home,” Lou added, unsure if Debbie’s intention was to keep partying- now that they were done with the work.

“Fine.”

Debbie tilted her head up and kissed Lou. She tasted like alcohol and cigarette smoke and they were leaning against bathroom door in a New York club, but Lou didn’t care. They were interrupted when someone tried to open the door and parted with a smile, letting the two women enter the bathroom and slipping out back into the darkness of the club, then to the brightness of the cloakroom and then into the cold night. Lou tucked her coat closer around her shoulders as they walked towards the closest subway station and Debbie silently reached for her hand again.

 

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Debbie spoke eventually.

“It’s okay. I get it. Family does weird things to you.”

Debbie huffed.

“Danny’s an asshole.”

“You love him.”  
“Yeah, so? He’s still an asshole. A fucking annoying asshole who always gets it all.”

Lou smiled. It was as close to admitting the effect he had on her as Debbie would ever get.

“Anyway,” Debbie continued, “I’m sorry for yelling at you. And I don’t actually want to move.”

“I know.”

Lou turned her head to look at Debbie and found surprisingly honest brown eyes gazing at her rather sheepishly. She couldn’t help but pull Debbie into an embrace, pressing lips gently against her temple.

“I’m sorry for yelling back,” Lou apologized, “I was on edge because we were so low on money.”

Debbie’s hands ran up and down Lou’s back, her breath warm at her ear as they just stood and embraced. When they parted, they linked hands again, smiling warmly before starting to walk again.

 

Lou was sure the next time Debbie came back from visiting Danny they would end up in pretty much the same argument. As well as they knew each other, they were both way too stubborn for their own good. They would probably always argue first and apologize for it later, when staying apart and not talking became too depressing. It probably wasn’t the healthiest of coping mechanism, but it was their routine and Lou wouldn’t change it for the world. She wouldn’t change Debbie for the world.

 

 

 

 


End file.
